Treating textile materials



July 14, 1925. 1,545,872

T. D. AINSLIE TREATING TEXTILE MATERIALS Filed Aug. 29, 1924 2Sheets-Sheet l &

INVENTOR ATTORNEY T. D. AINSLIE TREATING TEXTILE MATERIALS July 14,1925.

Filed Aug. 29, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 8 A J L v T T I E 5 6 r z IIL FH 1. a l I U. f 4 n Z 4 2 K7 v L n H m M T ll 7. 7. l m 7 H I I) l HP H|H| l l l I lllll ll 8 INVENTOK 0 A'r'roauewr a.... July 14, 1925.

UNITED STATES 1,545,872 PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS DOW AINSLIE, OF METUCHEN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE ROESSLER- &HASSLAOHER CHEMICAL COMPANY, 01 NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEWYORK.

TREATING TEXTILE MATERIALS.

Application filed August 88, 1984. Serial No. 784,888.

To all whom it ma concern. 1

. Be it known that ,Tnomas Dow Amsmn, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Metuchen in the county of Middlesex 5 and State of NewJerse have invented certain new and useful improvements in TreatingTextile Materials, of which the following is a specification.

In sinjecting textiles to the action of solutions as in dyeing orbleaching operations uniform results are dependent upon a uniformtreatment. If, as in the bleaching of cotton goods with peroxideliquors, the fibres are not evenly penetrated with the 5 treatingsolution and the entire mass of goods being bleached is not kept at afairly uniform temperature even results may not be obtained. Thematerial in some parts of the mass may be bleached to a greater delllgree than the remainder. Inextreme cases parts of the material may bescarcely bleached at all.

Further, since the effective strength of a dyeing or bleaching bathusually decreases with time and use it is necessary to have all parts ofthe load thoroughly penetrated at a uniform temperature by the activeliquor as soon as possible after treatment has begun. As theseconsiderations are especially important in connection with the treatinof.

textiles with peroxide bleach baths I sliall describe my 1nvention interms of its use with these solutions though not limiting its em loymentto bleaching liquors.

ne of the main difliculties in attempting to bleach a mass of cottonmaterial in a kier without using an excessive quantity of bleach liquoris the danger of not un1- 0 formly treating the fibres throughout allarts of the kier. The source of the trouble is usually channeling or thefact that the treating liquor does not percolate evenly through theentire inass of goods. Another 5 reason for poor penetra ion is that thefabric, yarn or raw stock may be tightly packed so that the center ofthe mass ofl'ers too great a resistance to the liquor; also the pressureexerted by any gas which may be 0 released within the material may tendto make the goods more buoyant, which hinders complete penetrationconsiderably. Uneven treatment may be readily discovered since the partsof the material which were penetrated last or least will not be as wellleached as the balance of the goods. One reason for this is that inbleaching with peroxide the strength of the treating liquor isconstantly lessening; therefore, complete penetration of the mass mustbe made within a reasonable time or unevenness is bound to occur. Forthis reason the kier .or vat is very often not loaded to its fullcapacity so that the liquor will have more opportunit to come in contactwith the fibres in al parts of the kier. Under any conditions it isessential that the mass be completely penetrated before thedeco'mposition of the hydrogen peroxide has 0ccurrcd to any greatextent, or those arts which are penetrated after the bleaciin liquor haslost a large wart of its strengt i or available oxygen will not bebleached as thoroughly as the portions of the load which have had thebenefit of the full bleaching power of the bath.

The object in rocessing material in a kier, especially in ileaching withhydrogen peroxide, is thus to treat the maximum amount of material witha given quantity of liquor in a minimum of time since this means a lowcost for chemicals per pound of goods, and a lower equipment investment.In arrangin any apparatus or equipment to accomplisi the desired result,provision must always be made for uniformly treatirg the material. Insome cases in order to obtain thorou hly satisfactory results the.

kier must be oaded without packing the goods tightly with the resultthat the capacit of the kier is reduced. Often the chemicals are dividedinto two batches and the goods treated twice being removed betweentreatments and given a light wash before being placed back into thekier. Either method reduces the capacity of the kier considerably. Insome cases satisfacliquor through a packed mass of yarn, piece goods,raw stock, or the like, with discharge of the merged streams, with theratio of vertical flow to horizontal or radial flow predetermined sothat the latter is preferably equal to or in excess of the formeraccording to conditions, solves the problem, and enables very unexpectedand desirable economies to be realized in bleaching and washing massesof piece goods, yarn, raw stock, etc. By radial flow, I mean flow fromwithin the mass toward the walls of the vat tending to distend the masstoward the walls, as distinguished from inward flow from the walls,tending to compress the mass away from the walls. An advantage of theinvention is that expensive new construction is not reqired to changeover existing plants, which when so changed over, may have an output ofdouble their previous capacity, with greater economy in heat, labor,water, power, peroxide and other chemicals per unit of goods treated,and will give more uniform and pleasing results. The same economies willbe realized in new plants embodying my invention, with but little if anymore initial investment.

In my invention, by the combination of vertical and horizontal or radialinflows, liquor of the same strength is at any time acting throughoutthe mass, which avoids one cause of uneven bleaching action. By reasonof the relatively stronger horizontal streams intercepting the verticalstreams, there is a quick penetration with continuous breaking up ordisturbing action in the interior of the mass, tending to reduce theexpansion of the mass due to trapped gas, and channeling, with theresult that the entire mass of material is thoroughly saturated with thetreating liquor at all times. A

' radial or horizontal flow alone, or a vertical flow alone, wouldnotiaccomplish the novel efi'ects of the two in combination.

I have obtained the most satisfactory results by having about of theliquor flow horizontally or radially, and the balance flow downwardly,but do not restrict myself to these proportions in my bread claims.

Fig. 1 represents the circulating system as attached to a kier which isdesignated as 1. 22 is a screen or perforated bottom to support the ads.2 is a drain pipe from the well 210i the hier. Valve 18 permitsdrainliquor radially from spray-head 17. Valve 19 prevents the liquorrorn going down pipe 15 to the pump 6. By the regulation of the variousvalves asexplained hereafter under the Routes Nos. 1, 2, and 3, thedirection of the liquor may he controlled.

Fig. 2 shows the invention including multiple spray-heads 1'7, appliedto a large vat 25. The liquor is drawn from the well of the vat 21 thruthe drain pipe 2 thru the valve 5 thence thru the pipe 26'to the pump 6and thence to pipe :24 and spray-heads 17.

charged thru 17. The liquor may also be controlled as shown under theheadings Route Nos. 1, 53, and

Spray-head 1'7 is a pipe which may well extend two-thirds the height ofthe kier or vat. The upper portion is perforated and may be covered witha cloth to better diffuse the liquor if desired. if preferred the pipemay be constructed of heavy screen or wire mesh of small size so as toget a better lateral distribution of the liquor upon its discharge. 2%is a distributing pipe in the open vat which runs in one continuous linearound the top of the vet. We have found that this gives a gooddistribution of the bleach liquor in case of leakage or excessive lossby evaporation since the top .of the goods will he kept saturated.

lin thepreferred form of the invention, a vat or kier will be providedwith a vertical perforated pipe for discharging liquor laterally .orradially within the mass, and a top pipe for discharging liquor on topof the mass, with combined discharge at the bottom to the circulatingpump intake, thence through a heater ii used, and back through thepipes, means being provided for proportioning the respective flows asabove stated. in large equipments, there will be a plurality of verticalpipes as in Fig. 2, so as to secure the desired rapid penetration heforethe liquor weakens.

The design or the special pipe which extends within the material willdepend upon the type of fabric being processed as well as the size andshape of the vat. It may extend into the load of goods to abouttwothirds of their height. The pipe may be designed of a pear shape ifpreferred so as to avoid the shoulders catching the material when themachine is being unloaded. By

spacing these pipes so that the amount of goods around each pipe is thesame very satisfactory'results are obtained duato the fact that theliquor is brought into intimate contact with the'center of the mass ofmaterial which is ordinarily diflicult to penetrate. In'the case of akier a single center pipe may be used if desired.

I have also found that one great advantage of this circulating system 18that washing may be carried out to a remarkable graph heading Route No.1 there are many advantages to be gained both in the thorough net-rationof the fibres; the uniformity 0 treatment; releasin with more ease thegas liberated in bleaciing; less air is tra ed and carried into the massof materm with the solution, and a lower labor charged thru the centercost.

The liquor may be moved in the followingeroutes:

oateNo. 1.The liquor is taken from the well of the kier thru the pum[and heater and then of the liquor is disipe and the remainmg 30% overthe sur ace of the goods. This is done by referring to Fig. 1. Theliquor is carrie from the kier out thru the pipe 2 thence thru the pipe4 to the pump 6, valves 18 and 19 being closed and 5 opened. The liqlqoris now passed from the amp 6 thru t e pi e 7 to the tubular ieater 8thence thru tie discharge pipe 9, valve 12 being 0 ned so thatapproximately twice the quantity of liquor will pass thru it as passesthru valve '11. The liquor going thru the valve 12 is passed thru pipes13, 14 and 16 to be discharged within the center of the nias'sthru thespray-head 17. The remainin ftliiid of the liquor which passes thru vave 11 is discharged over the surface of the goods thru the spra pi e 20,

Route No. 2.,- The liquor w ll e rawn thru the s ray-head 17 thence thruthe pipes 16, 14 an 15 to the pump '6, valves 5 and 12 being closed and19 and 11 opened. From the pump 6 the liqluor would pass thru pipe 7thence thru the ieater 8 thru pipes 9 and 10 to be sprayed over thesurface of the goods throng 1 ipe 20.

Route No. 8. e liquor will be drawn out of the well and spray-head 17thru pipes 2, 4, 16, 14 and 15 into the pump 6, valves 19 and 5 being 0had and 18 closed. From the pump 6 the iquor would go thru pipe 7 thruth tubular heater 8 thru the pipe 9 and deglrkee by circulating theliquor as indicated.

. a plur s rayed out of the pipe 20 valve 12 being cibsed and valve 11opened.

The preferred mode of o ration is to o crate according to Route 0. 1. Itwill found when working with liquors which liberatevgases that if at theend of each hour or so the valves are arranged so as to circulatethrou11 so as to circulate a minimum of liquor tirough the verticallydischarging spray head 20 for 20 or 30 minutes then a portion of the aswhich ordinarily gives more or less trou le .will be removed. In thepresent method of workin when bleaching with peroxides by circulatingthe bath the liquor being thrown constantly on top of the oods tends toseal the oxygen beneath it whereas with my system by taking the liquorfrom the bottom or the well of the kier or vat and forcing it .into thecenter of the mass assistance is actually given the gas to escape. Thisoxygen, unless liber ated, crea-ts considerable pressure within the massof cloth and also makes the load buoyant which in turn, of course,exerts a reat deal of pressure at the top of the tier. The methodsometimes employed for assisting this gas to escape is to stop thecirculation and allow the "as to work itself out through the liquor. Myimproved system, however, as stated above is of great benefit inreleasing this gas. I

The arrangement and connections of kier, pump, pipes, valves,'andspray-heads here- 111 shown has several advantages over presentapparatus in simplicity, compactness, and flexibility, and a widevariety of textile treating processes can be carried out therewith.

In addition to the routes above mentioned, the apparatus disclosedwillpermit other routes to be used as the operator may prefer, or forspecial purposes, whereas, so far as I am aware, apparatus heretoforedevised has not been capable of such universal or wide variation.

What I claim is: 1. Method of treating goods packed in a kieror vatwhich consists in flowing multiple streams of treating liquor throughthe mass in a direction from within the mass outward toward the walls ofthe vat while simultaneously flowing streams of liquor transverselythereto through the mass, and

withdrawing the merged streams at a distance from their places of entry.

'2. The method of treating goods acked in a kier or vat which consistsinorcing under -positive pressure treating licplior in a ity of streamsfrom within t e kier toward the wall of the kier so as to distend thematerial within the kier toward the wall of the kier, and simultaneouslyflowing streams of the treating liquor vertically throu h the kier.

3. he method of treating the goods acked in a kier or vat whichiconsistsinowing multiple streams of treating liquor through the mass inhorizontal and vert cal directions, the horizontal streams being greaterthan the vertical streamsinthe approximate proportions of 70 to 30, and

withdrawing the merged streams at a distance from their places of entry.

4,. The method of treating goods acked in a kier or vat which consistsin owing multiple streams of treating liquor through the mass indiverging and in downward directions, the diverging streams being underpositive pressure and greater than the vertical streams, and withdrawingthe merged streams at the bottom.

5. The method of bleaching goods packed in a kier or vat with bleachingliquor which consists in flowing multiple downward and diverging streamsof bleaching liquor through the mass thereby assisting any gas presentin escaping to traverse an elongated lateral and u ward path against thedownward liquor fibw, the diverging streams being under positivepressure, and withdrawing the merged streams at the bottom.

6. The method of treating goods packed in a kier or vat which consistsin flowing multiple streams of treating liquor through the mass inradial and downward directions, the horizontal streams being greaterthan the vertical streams in the approximate proportions of 70 to 30. p

7. The combination with a kier or the like having a bottom outlet forliquor, a

A plurality of multiple inlets spaced from the outlet to dischargemultiple streams of liquor in diverging directions, and means forsupplying liquor to said inlets in desired proportions.

8. The combination with a, kier or the like having an outlet for liquor,of a vertical inlet having multiple" diverging discharge apertures, asecond inlet having multiple vertically discharging apertures, saidinlets being spaced from the outlet, and means {for supplying a majorportion of liquor to the vertical inlet and a minor portion to thesecond inlet.

9. The combination with a kier or the like having an outlet for liquor,of means for flowing multiple streams vertically through goods packedtherein, means for :llowin multiple streams horizontally throng thegoods, a pump connected to said outlet to withdraw the merged streamsand supply said streams, and means for connecting said pump to, withdrawliquor through said "horizontal streammeans to supply said verticalstream means.

- 10. The combination with akie or the like having an outlet for liquor,or sprayhead for discharging liquor to flow vertiscally through goodspacked therein, a vertically discharging apertures, said inlets beingspaced from the outlet, and a pump connected to said outlet to withdrawthe merged streams and supply liquor toall said inlet pipes.

12. In combination with a kier or the like having an outlet for liquor,of means for conveying a supply of treating liquor to the interior of amass of material packed in said kier and discharging it outward towardthe walls of the vat, and means for directing a supply of treatingliquor substantially vertically through said mass.

13. In combination with a kier or the like having an outlet for liquor,of means for introducing treating liquor at the top of the kier, andmeans for introducing treating liquor under positive pressure to ppintswithin a mass of goods packed in the ,14. The combination with a kier orthe like having side retaining walls and a perforated supporting bottom,of an outlet for liquor below said perforated bottom, a spray head atthe top of the kier for discharging liquor to flow vertically by grav- 4ity through the goods packed therein, a vertical spray head within thekier for discharging liquor radially under positive pressure through thepacked goods, and a pump connected to the outlet and supply ing said twoheads;

Signed at Perth Amboy, in the county of Middlesex and State of NewJersey, this 28th day of August, A. D. 1924:.

THOMAS now AINSLIE.

in presence of- J. A. BRIMLOW.

